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Commissioner Morris urges action on water lines as new subdivision planned on 4‑inch service
Summary
Commissioner Morris told the Health, Welfare & Recreation Committee he will meet with Manchester’s mayor and is seeking TDEC guidance after a planning commission approved a 39‑lot subdivision that would be served by a 4‑inch water main.
Commissioner Morris briefed the Coffee County Health, Welfare & Recreation Committee on concerns about water infrastructure after the planning commission approved a subdivision of about 39 houses that would be served by a 4‑inch water line.
Morris said he has a meeting scheduled with Manchester Mayor Joey Hobbs and that engineers have completed a preliminary study identifying supplies needed for the JE Sarton project. He told the committee there was public concern on social media about fire protection where the subdivision will be built and asked what legal authority Coffee County has to require developers or utilities to upgrade lines.
"We've got to come up with something because Coffee County is gonna grow," Morris said, adding that the county may need to require developers to bring utilities “up to grade” even if that means extending lines for miles. He also said he asked the mayor to request that TDEC send legal staff to explain what the county can and cannot require from utilities.
Why it matters: committee members were told the subdivision as approved is serviceable by a 4‑inch line, which commissioners said would not meet a larger fire‑flow or future growth standard. Morris and others raised concern that smaller lines shift risk to volunteer firefighters and homeowners and that utilities would capture revenue from new taps without necessarily investing in upstream capacity.
Morris described one example where a fire hydrant that had been run over went unrepaired for more than a year until a constituent publicized the issue on Facebook; Manchester water fixed the hydrant within 24 hours after the post, he said.
Committee members discussed options including asking TDEC for legal guidance, revisiting county planning codes, and reviving an ad‑hoc wastewater/water committee. No formal action was taken at the meeting; commissioners asked Morris and the mayor to pursue meetings with TDEC and utility providers.
Ending: Morris said he will follow up after his meeting with the mayor; commissioners signaled support for seeking technical and legal guidance before proposing code changes.
